Who are we?  Where did we come from?  Where are we going?  What is our purpose?  Answering these four questions is at the heart of the debate of Evolution, Creationism, Materialism and Theology.

Within the Church the debate between Evolution and Creationism also rages, this debate brings with it a host of questions.  Has science proven the Bible to be wrong?  Was the Bible written in an allegorical format, should we interpret it as merely symbolic stories?   Did Noah and the flood really happen?  Was there and Adam and Eve?  When did  humans really appear?  The questions become endless, so how can we find what is true?

            One way to find the truth is to examine the evidence and comparing the facts  to determine what is right and wrong.  Do the claims past the test of evidence?

1.                      I.        Evolution and Creationism

 Creationism and Evolution are the two opposing viewpoints on the origin of life today.  Between these two extremes there are a number of other views with variations.  A third view, is the “alien” seeding view, transferring the argument to an unknown place and time. Same problem, where did the aliens come from?   

To keep the discussion at its core let’s focus on the two extremes of these argument, Evolution and Creationism.  Theistic Evolution and Intelligent Design are variations of these arguments, with God added to the secular science.

 Evolution:  (Atheistic)Is the belief that life evolved from non-life (Abiogenesis) and that over time through random mutation and natural selection life became more complex developing into variations we have today.

 Creationism:  (Young Earth)The belief that life was created by the Biblical “God” directly over a 24-hour periods as revealed in scripture. Humanity was made in the image of God.  Life was created with the ability to have variations within “kinds”, explaining the variety of life forms today.

1.                    II.        Worldviews and Presuppositions

 Who or what we think we are?  Why we are here? The answers to these questions shape what is known as our worldview.  Our worldview is how we see the world, and who we think we are.  For example, if I was born in a McDonalds, and lived my whole life in a McDonalds, I could very well see myself as the descendent of Hamburger or a Cheeseburger?  Worldviews are built upon presuppositions.

            A presupposition is a position of belief which one assumes to be true.  So we believe McDonalds sells hamburgers before we go to a McDonalds restaurant , that is our presupposition.  A collection of presuppositions form a worldview, everybody has a worldview formed by presuppositions.  The question we need to ask, is our presuppositions based on reality or fallacy?.

 Do worldviews and presuppositions matter?

             Today evolution is one of the many presuppositions built into the minds of many people by repetition of claims in the media, school and culture, but is evolution true? Worldviews based on false presuppositions lead to bad consequences.  Hitler for example believed we were evolved animals, with some humans being stronger and more deserving than inferior weaker humans.  He believed that stronger should dominate the weaker based on “survival of the fittest”.   He felt justified in the strong German killing the weak Jew, akin to the strong lion killing its weaker prey. His worldview was shaped by presuppositions he came to accept as fact.  Could his positions be justified in Atheistic Evolution?

            Let’s examine some of the presuppositions that frame the arguments of Evolution and Creationism.

1. Materialism The position that believes that the only thing that exists is matter, with energy being a form of matter. All things are composed of matter and are the result of interactions between forms of matter.

 

2. Theism: The position that God or gods exist outside of the natural world. Theism includes any belief system that assumes “intelligence” outside of the physical world.  “May the force be with you”

 

3. Faith: To put trust in a person, individual or idea without actually seeing the realization of the belief. Everybody operates under faith, why do trust that coffee from Starbuck’s is not poisoned?  You put faith in Starbuck selling “safe” coffee to its customers.  Why do you believe the theory of Evolution is true?  Because you trust your school is telling you the truth. 

 

4. Scientific Method: Is the formal method of scientific enquiry to find an answer to a question.  The system uses verifiable and testable data against a hypothesis to determine whether it is “True” or “False”. 

 

Portion of Evolution are outside of the realm of Scientific method, such as the origin of life and the adding of information through “Random mutations” since they cannot be tested empirical data.

Evolution is built on foundation of presuppositions that cannot be tested or verified outside of the faith of the. 

            Since no evidence of a “proto-cell” that came into existence on its own, without “super-natural” force, materialist are required by definition to have “faith” that such an event occurred.

 

1.                   III.        Debunking Evolution

 Today, Evolution is presented and taught as an undeniable fact in literally every aspect of schools, universities, entertainment and even many churches.  To question evolution, places you in many circles as those who would question the earth is round.  People are afraid of ridicule because they lack the knowledge and facts to defend the biblical position.  

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) in 1859 published his book “On the Origin of Species”, the theory actually has two components. 

The first part of his book deals with “variation” within species, this is known as “Micro-Evolution” or Natural Selection.  These are traits present in species of animals that can be classified as a “Kinds”.  Wolves, dogs, Coyotes, foxes are all part the same “Kind” with variations within their kind.  A fox can breed with a dog because they are the same kind.  A zebra and horse can breed because they are the same kind, producing a Zorse. A lion can breed with a tiger and produce a Liger because they are the same kind.  Darwin deals with the variation of kinds for the first 9 of 13 chapters of his “Ground breaking” book.   Darwin was not unique in his discovery, the Bible clearly tells us in Genesis chapter 1, God man life according to their various kinds.

25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. Genesis 1:25

 

The ability for an animal to adapt to its environment is built within its genetic code, this portion of the DNA code to trigger variations is only now coming to light.  Formerly this DNA code was classified as “Junk DNA” because scientist had now understanding what it was for.  These genes regulate and turn on and off variations according to outside stimuli.

            The Second part of Darwin theory was on the Origin of Life itself, he deals with this in Chapters 10 through 14.  Here Darwin “Speculates” on how life developed from less complex to more complex forms.  Darwin had no idea how life began, in 1871 he “Speculates” on life origin to a friend, Joseph Dalton Hooker, on how life may have begun. Darwin writes,[1]

 Darwin had faith life formed from non-life, his presupposition was that it was possible for all the right elements to come together and form a first living cell.   Darwin faith in the existence of the first proto-cell continues today by “modern science” which is not able demonstrate a single aspect of life. 

 

1. 1.     The Proto-Cell:

 

Darwin and his followers after him such as Thomas Huxley, Darwin’s Bulldog, had no idea how complex a cell was.  Only through the electron microscope and other instruments invented this century have we come to understand what takes for a cell to function.  Within a cell are thousands of different proteins, enveloped in lipid layer, allowing for the flow of materials into and outside of the cell.  The Proto-Cell is a mythical cell in the theory of Evolution.  Evolutionist just “assume” it exists without one piece of evidence, evolution becomes “religion” at this point. 

            The complexity of proteins and organelles required in the first cell is beyond any type of technology we have today.  Therefore for the first cell to exist and replicate it requires an impossible number of events to occur. 

1. A.    The DNA would have to match all the equipment inside the cell, to allow for a copied cell to have the same equipment and DNA/RNA. The coding for organelle(Ribosome, Cell Wall, Pilli, Etc.) would need to be coded in the DNA as well as be present in the first cell, magically at the same time by “mere chance”.
2. B.    The first cell would have to be able to replicate itself and send the replication instructions to the next cell, another impossible task, requiring faith in a “mythical” cell which did not exist.
3. C.    Thousand of complex proteins would need to have simultaneous came into existence at the same time or the cell would not be able to function.  For example “Flagellum” the propulsion system of a bacteria requires over 40 unique proteins.  If any of these proteins were missing the flagellum would be completely useless.

           

1. 2.     Protein Synthesis

 

What does it take to make a protein?  Proteins are the building blocks of life, without them there is no life.  They are what make up the parts of the cell allowing the cell to function.  There is one problem, the only way to get proteins requires a “Protein Factory” known as the Ribosome.  The Ribosome is made of two units, a larger and a smaller unit.   They are made of over 50-different proteins.  These units are required in all cells for the creation of proteins.

            Proteins are created when the coding from Protein is delivered to the Ribosome, which then creates the protein based on the code.  How did the first cell get the coding for the Ribosome, and at the same time have the Ribosome present to create the proteins required for the cell to function.  On top of this, it would then have to transfer this information to the very next cell, it “Off spring” cell, so the process could continue.

            A protein is a complex collection of 20-amino acids which needs to be placed in the proper order, and then shaped after they are created to function properly.  The Ribosome alone requires over 50-unique proteins.

 

1. 3.     Tree of Life and “Random Mutations”

 

From the very first cell, the Proto-Cell, all life evolved on-ward and upward.  Each living organism is composed of a collection of information which allows it to exist.  This information is contained in the DNA of the organism and must be transferred to the next generation.  In order for evolution to work, and “New information” to be to the organism, “Random Mutations” need to occur to allow for an upward increase in complexity.

There are several problems with this,

1. A.    Most Mutations are harmful, one study has shown the percentage of beneficial to harmful gene mutations .00041 ratio an incredible low number.

 

One top geneticist recently conducted a computer analysis to quantitate the ratio of "beneficial mutations" to harmful mutations.⁹ Only 186 entries for beneficial mutations were discovered (and even they have a downside), versus 453,732 entries for harmful mutations. The ratio of "beneficial mutations" to harmful mutations is 0.00041! Thus, even if a very rare mutation is "beneficial," the next 10,000 mutations in any evolutionary sequence would each be fatal or crippling, and each of the next 10,000 imaginary mutations would bring the evolution process to a halt.[2]

 

1. B.     Natural Selection plays no role adding information.

 

For Natural Selection to work, the information must already be in the organism. Since selection of the genes is based on environmental triggers, new information is not being added to the organism.

 

1. 4.     The Human Fossil Record

 

Much has been made fossil record, what most people are not aware of is the false record.  The world of Paleontology is filled with examples of evidence presented as 100% proof of human evolution, only later to be proven as manufactured evidence.  Much of what is put forward today is not based on science but on subjective interpretations of fossils, with a presupposition of evidence built into the claims.

 

1. A.    Piltdown Man

 

Is human fossil hoax accepted as solid evidence for human evolution by the Paleontology community for more then 50-years. It was exposed as a hoax in 1953.

A skull found in Piltdown England 1912 was matched with an Orangutan jaw, the teeth were filed down and the skull was presented to the Geological Society of London as evidence in December 1912.  Sir Arthur Keith (1866-1955) who would later become  the president of Royal Anthropological Institute was one of the chief proponents of Piltdown Man (a.k.a Dawsons Man).  Also Henry Fairfield Osborn (1857-1935), head of the American Museum of Natural History  that the jaw and skull belonged together "without question" and that the Sheffield Park fragments "were exactly those which we should have selected to confirm the comparison with the original type". 

This forgery fooled some of the greatest “anthropologists” of the day for over 40-years.

 

1. B.    Nebraska Man

A tooth discovered in Nebraska in 1917, a rancher and amateur anthropologist was sent to Henry Fairfield Osborn, head of the American Museum of Natural History.  After further examination, Osborn declared the tooth to belong to an extinct type of ape of the western world known as Hesperopithecus haroldcookii (ape of the western world).   Osborne made cast of the tooth and sent them around the world. In England, Grafton Elliot Smith confirmed the tooth belonged to an extinct type of ape of the western world.  Smith was the leading specialist on the evolution of the brain in his day.  He teamed up with artist Amédée Forestier who drew an illustration of whole family based on the discovery of the tooth for the Illustrated London News (1922).

Only later after did they visit the site of the tooth discovery, to find out it belonged to that of a pig and not an ape.

 

 

1. C.    Neanderthal Man

 

The first Neanderthal skull was discovered in Gibraltar in 1848. Eight years later the “original” Neanderthal man was discovered in a limestone quarry in the Neander Valley near Düsseldorf in Germany (“Neanderthal” literally means “Neander’s Valley”). Three years after the Neander Valley discovery, Charles Darwin published his Origin of Species in which he proposed that all life descended from a common ancestor. This includes humans who were thought to have evolved from some sort of ape-like ancestor. The Neanderthal man was subsequently reinterpreted by the scientists of the 19th century who came to see him as a sort of ape-man, an evolutionary link between man and ape. This view persisted into the 20th century.  In the mid 1950’s American anatomists William Straus and A. J. Cave reexamined the Old Man of La Chapelle-aux-Saints. It was their conclusion that “if he could be reincarnated and placed in a New York subway provided he were bathed, shaved, and dressed in modern clothing it is doubtful whether he would attract any more attention that some of its other denizens” (Quarterly Review of Biology, vol. 32, pp. 348–63, December).  The anatomical peculiarities of the Neanderthal men are known to exist within the normal boundaries of human variation potential. In other words, the Neanderthals were just regular humans who looked a little different than you and I do today (similar to how Australian aborigines look significantly different than Native American Indians and yet they are all human).  The Neanderthals were known to bury their dead (whose bodies they covered in flowers), they used tools, worked with animal hides, took care of each other and generally acted like humans act. There is no indication that they were the brutish beasts they are seen as by many today. Their brain cavity was actually much larger than the average brain today.  It appears that many of the Neanderthals suffered from a Vitamin D deficiency. This caused their bones to grow soft and deformed. This has contributed the popular hunched-over ape-man misconception. The Vitamin D deficiency may simply be indicative of the era in which they lived. Vitamin D comes from fish oils and dairy products and is produced in the body when the skin is exposed to the sun. The Neanderthals obviously had a very poor diet. In addition to this, they appear to have spent much of their time taking shelter in caves. It is believed by many scholars that the Neanderthals lived during an Ice Age. This would explain their poor diets and lack of exposure to the sun. So, while the ape-man perspective has been shown to be false, Neanderthal man was certainly a caveman in the true sense of the word. 

 

The size of his brain capacity was even greater than the average human today.

 

   D.  Lucy: HOMINID OR CHIMP?[3]

When Lucy first arrived on the scene, newsmagazines such as Time and National Geographic noted that she had a head shaped like an ape, with a brain capacity the size of a large chimp’s—about one-third the size of a modern man’s. In an article that appeared in New Scientist, evolutionist Jeremy Cherfas noted: “Lucy, alias Australopithecus afarensis, had a skull very like a chimpanzee’s, and a brain to match” (1983, 93:172). Adrienne Zihlman observed: “Lucy’s fossil remains match up remarkably well with the bones of a pygmy chimp” (1984, 104:39). It should be no surprise then, that in Stern and Susman’s 1983 analysis of afarensis, they pointed out:

These findings of ours, in conjunction with Christie’s (1977), observation on enhanced rotation at the tibio-talar joint in AL 288-1, Tardieu’s (1979) deductions about greater voluntary rotation at the knee in AL 288-1, Senut’s (1981) and Feldesman’s (1982a) claims that the humerus of AL 288-1 is pongid in certain of its features, and Feldesman’s (1982b) demonstration that the ulna of AL 288-1 is most similar to that of Pan paniscus [a chimp—BH/BT], all seem to lead ineluctably to the conclusion that the Hadar hominid was vitally dependent on the trees for protection and/or sustenance (60:311).

All of these characteristics led inevitably to the conclusion that Lucy was simply a chimp-like creature. And yet, more than a decade earlier, Charles Oxnard, while at the University of Chicago, already had passed judgment on these creatures. His multivariate computer analyses indicated that the australopithecines were, in fact, nothing but knuckle-walking animals (1975).                             

 

4. Evidence for Creationism

 

The Bible claims to be a super-natural book revealed by God, to humanity through prophets such as Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, John, Paul and others.  The Bible claims to reveal aspects of Creation which only God as Creator would know about.  If God made the Heavens and the Earth before man was created, how would man know what was happening?  So In Genesis Chapter 1, God would have to reveal what was happening because Adam and Eve were not even created until the sixth day.  So the question is, Did God really reveal to Adam and Eve and their offspring what took place?  Did God create a fictional/Allegorical or Symbolic account of what happened?

Since nobody was present when the first cell came into existence, how valid is the science for such an event?

Can we apply the scientific method to test and see if life just happens?  No we can’t, it requires faith to believe in what person who claims to have the evidence is proclaiming.

 

Applying the scientific method to the Bible

 

We can take the literal words of the Bible and test them to see if they are accurate in what they claim.  Life the faith in

 

 

Did God Create the Heavens and Earth within the last 10,000-years?

 

Who are we? How did we get here? Where are we going? These three questions frame the answer to the question.  If I was to ask the Atheist, what was before the Big Bang and Matter, most if they are honest will say, “I don’t know”.  Some might answer a question with a question, than “who made God?”.  In the end, we are forced to faith in someone, or something, the Atheist is forced to believe he/she came out of nothing and has no cause for their existence other than random chance.

            The Creationist faith is based on validity of Scripture and the evidence of scripture. The same God who created universe the earth and humanity, is the same God who reported what took place at the Creation.  When God made the universe and earth He made it with both space and appearance.  God did not need to wait 17-billion years for the light to cross the universe, God made both the light and the light sources as reported in scripture.  

            In Genesis God made light on the first day after He created the Heavens and the Earth (Space and Matter).

 

Doesn’t Radiometric dating prove the earth is older than 10,000-years old?

 

Dating of the earth using Radiometric Isotopes are based on assumptions of decay rates of Isotopes.

Uranium-238 decays into lead-106 and Potassium-40 decays into Argon-40, what we don’t know is the historical state of the rock when it was first formed, or how the environment might have affected the rock.

Assumptions are made in dating a rock, three critical assumptions can affect the results

1. The initial conditions of the rock sample are accurately known?
2. The amount of parent or daughter elements in  a sample has not been altered by processes other than radioactive decay.
3. The decay rate (half-life) of the parent isotope has remained constant since the rock was formed.

 

Radiometric dating has proved to be flawed at times.  In 1997, a team of eight research scientists known as the RATE group (Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth) set out to test assumptions made in standard radioisotope dating practices. What they found is that newly formed Lava in 1986 from Mount St. Helens was dated between .5 and 2.8 million years.[4]

            The group also tested Mount Ngauruhoe in the North Island of New Zealand. They took eleven samples from dated lava flows.  The ages of the rocks ranged from .27 to 3.5 million years old, but the samples were known to be less than 70-years old.[5]

 

 

Were Adam and Eve literal people, made in the image of God?

 

According to the Bible, God made Adam and Eve in the Image of God on the 6^th Day.

 

26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day. Genesis 1:26-27,31

 

The recorded history of the earth does not go farther back then the oldest recorded history of Sumer and Sumer according to Genesis Chapter 10 is the first settled land of the Noah’s descendents after the flood.

 

1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."  Genesis 11:1-4

 

We can validate the Shinar(Sumer) has the oldest recorded (written) history of any civilization on the planet. We can also know through the study of languages that most languages and alphabets used today are related linguist and symbolically.

 

 

Is there evidence for a worldwide flood?

 

⁵ For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, ⁶ by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. ⁷ But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.  2 Peter 3:-7

 

The evidence for a worldwide flood is overwhelming if someone is willing to examine the evidence.  What the Bible tells us happens is validated in the fossil and geologic records.  All throughout the earth we find massive amounts of sedimentary deposits that were left by a worldwide flood.

 

Sedimentary Deposits.

 

These are deposits that are left as the result of sediment from bodies of water.  Sedimentary deposits include, Coal, Oil, Limestone, shale and other types of material as result upheavals in the world. Ask yourself the question, where did oil and coal come from?  How did they get beneath the earth surface, including the ocean?  Where did Limestone come from? 

            Oil is also called “Fossil fuels” because Oil is made up of dead animal and vegetable matter.  How did dead animals and vegetation get under thousands of feet earth surface? Well the answer is simple if you have a biblical worldview; they are sedimentary deposits of a worldwide flood which covered the earth.  Coal like Oil is also from dead living matter now part of the earth surface being mined now as fuel. Both Coal and Oil can be found throughout the earth, at various levels of the earth surface.

            Limestone is another type of stone which was once living organisms including coral and other types of shell life.  All throughout the world Limestone is found in abundant quantities.  How did this mass of life get accumulated and deposited?  Simple, the Bible tells us a worldwide flood destroyed all life on the surface of the earth, massive upheavals would have also affected the oceans causing the limestone deposits we have today.  The Limestone Cliffs of Dover are power example to the extent of life before the flood.

            Sedimentary layers are deposited all over the earth showing the remains of the water flow as flood waters receded after the flood.

 

 

Whale and shell remains

 

The Bible tells us that waters covered the earth, even to the highest mountain.  So if that is the case, do we find sea animals in places they should not be?  The answer is yes.  Whale bones have been found at the tops of mountains along with sea shell deposits; this would confirm the biblical account of worldwide events.   Here are two examples of whale skeletons left behind as flood waters receded.  The first one is on the Andes Mountain and the other is in the desert of Egypt. How did these get to the tops of the mount or desert in Egypt? 

            Also in addition to whale bones sea shells have been found at the top of Mt. Everest the highest mountain on earth.  Sir Edmond Hillary in 1953 climbed to the top of the mountain and recorded find sea shells and other sedimentary rock at the top.